German is spoken by almost the entire population. In the eastern province of Burgenland about 25,000 people speak Croatian, while in the southern province of Carinthia about 20,000 people speak Slovenian.

Environment - current issues: some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution
results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from
emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and
from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe

Geography - note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with
many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube;
population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor
soils, and low temperatures elsewhere

Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative
acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal
supreme courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections

Executive branch:chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Susanne RIESS-PASSER (FPOe) (since 4 February 2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
elections : president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 19 April 1998 (next to be held in the spring of 2004); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; in the case of the current coalition, the chancellor was chosen from another party after the plurality party failed to form a government; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
election results: Thomas KLESTIL reelected president; percent of vote - Thomas KLESTIL 63%, Gertraud KNOLL 14%, Heide SCHMIDT 11%, Richard LUGNER 10%, Karl NOWAK 2%

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal
Council or Bundesrat (63 members; members represent each of the provinces
on the basis of population, but with each province having at least three representatives)
and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:National Council - last held 3 October 1999 (next to be held in the fall of 2003)
election results :National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 33.2%, OeVP 26.9%, FPOe 26.9%, Greens 7.4%; seats by party - SPOe 65, OeVP 52, FPOe 52, Greens 14

Political parties and leaders: Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Susanne RIESS-PASSER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Federal Chamber of Trade and Commerce; Austrian Trade Union Federation
(primarily Socialist) or OeGB; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's
Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers; OeVP-oriented League
of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief
lay organization, Catholic Action

Economy - overview: Austria has a well-developed market economy with a sizable - but falling
- proportion of nationalized industry, an extensive social safety net, and
a high standard of living. Austria's economy is closely integrated with Germany
and other EU members - Austria joined the EU on 1 January 1995. Since the
early 1980s, the Austrian economy has experienced stable growth. EU membership
has had a positive impact on foreign investment and has helped to lower inflation.
In April 1996, the government passed a two-year austerity budget - including
cuts in social allowances, a freeze on civil servants' wages, and new energy
and capital gains taxes - designed to bring the economy in line with the Maastricht
criteria for membership in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
EMU convergence has become a top priority for Austria. Despite Austria's generally
favorable prospects, the economy faces a number of medium-term challenges;
for example, fiscal tightening is constraining expected growth, and unemployment
is expected to increase.

Telephone system:domestic: highly developed and efficient there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons and the system is nearly 100% digital; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available
international : satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat (1999)